It Was Always You
by Ronnini
Summary: Sometimes the one you were meant to be with has been by your side all along and you didn't even know it. Three-Shot AU.


**I'm sure most of you want me to be updating IWGYH, but this story has just been begging me to publish it. I've been working on this on and off for almost 4 years now and maybe seeing how readers react to it will give me the confidence and motivation to finally finish it! I'm planning on telling this story in 3 parts and I have the first two parts finished, just working on an ending.**

 **Also, it should be noted that I stopped watching Teen Wolf a while ago, so if my story is not consistent with what is going on currently in the show that's why.**

 **I do not own Once Upon a Time or Teen Wolf**

* * *

Lightning struck and thunder shook the building. Mrs. Hale gripped her 1 day old baby boy tightly while her husband packed their things.

"Honey, I don't know if it's such a good idea to leave in this weather. We can wait until tomorrow, its fine." She took the blanket from her husband's hands, but he snatched it back.

"That's a lie. I know you hate it here more than I do and we got the clear to leave this morning so we're taking it. It's not like we've never driven in a storm like this before." He grabbed the car seat and placed it on the bed so his wife could put their baby in it.

"That's true, but we have precious cargo this time." She said as she looked down at their baby. He was surprisingly calm with a storm raging outside. He just stared up at her with his big green eyes. He looked just like his father. He even had a full head of dark hair already.

The baby let out a large yawn as Mrs. Hale carefully placed him in the carrier. Once she had buckled him in securely, she draped a blanket over him to keep him warm and caressed his head. She turned to her husband and took his hand as he picked up the carrier. Once they were checked out, Mr. Hale left his wife and the baby at the front door so he could pull the car around. Mrs. Hale took this moment to look down at their baby to see that he was fast asleep. More proof that he was his father's son. That man could sleep through anything and apparently so could his child.

When the black SUV pulled up, Mr. Hale put it in park and got out to help strap their baby in. Mrs. Hale made him check 3 times to be sure that he was in tight. She pushed for a fourth, but he said she was being ridiculous. When they were all set to go she leaned over and grabbed his hand.

"Please, drive carefully." She begged him.

He nodded his head and placed a kiss on her forehead.

The windshield wipers swished across the glass vigorously. The rain was coming down fast and hard to the point where you couldn't see anything more than 10 feet in front of you. Mrs. Hale fidgeted in her seat and like clockwork continuously looked behind her to check on their child. She was forced to look forward when her husband slammed on the breaks.

"What's going on?" She asked in a frenzy.

He pointed for her to look forward and in front of the car stood what looked like a dog. Its long fur was charcoal black and it had piercing red eyes. One paw was being held in the air like it was injured.

"Oh my, um, do you think we should help it?" She suggested.

Mr. Hale unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door instantly being drenched by the rain.

"You stay here. I'll go check it out." He instructed, yelling so that she could hear him over the sound of the pouring rain.

She watched as he slowly approached the dog. When the animal had first appeared in the headlights she hadn't thought twice about the size, but now that her husband was inching closer to it she noticed how big it really was. It looked as though it came up to his stomach and her husband was no small man. What kind of animal was this?

Panic shot through her when she saw the creature crouch down, snarling. That didn't stop Mr. Hale from moving any closer though. Her husband had always been fearless and she hoped their son would be more cautious, but seeing as though he was just like his father already that was inevitable.

Mr. Hale placed his hand on the animals head and its demeanor instantly softened. It allowed him to pet it for a couple strokes and then whimpered in pain, showing him its injured paw. Mr. Hale crouched down and picked the dog up in his arms and carried it to the back of the car. Mrs. Hale was shaken from her sense of shock when she heard a knock from the back window alerting her to unlock the door. Her hands were shaking as he pressed the button. The door to the trunk lifted and the car was instantly filled with the sound of panting and whimpering. She watched as the dog got settled, sitting directly behind the back seat with its head way above it. She noticed it looked down at the baby in the carrier, but made no expression of hunger. It simple cocked its head to the side in curiosity and then looked up at her with what seemed like a smile on its face.

When Mr. Hale returned to his seat she turned to him, expecting an explanation.

"It seems more scared and lost than dangerous, but my god that thing is huge. I've never seen a dog that size. We should take it to Dr. Deaton sometime late this week. He'll probably know what it is and he can probably fix its injured paw." He told her.

Mrs. Hale rubbed her temples with her fingers, feeling agitated. "So we're just going to let that thing," she pointed directly behind her at the dog sitting in the back "in our house with our newly born baby?" She fumed.

Mr. Hale shrugged. "Look, honey, that animal is seemingly harmless and it's hurt. I'm sure someone in town is looking for it, so we're just keeping it safe for the night." He said reassuringly.

She let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, but that thing isn't coming within an inch of our baby."

Mr. Hale chuckled and started the car up again. Once they made it home safely, Mrs. Hale grabbed their son and Mr. Hale was left to handle the dog. When he opened the back door to the car he saw the dog huddled in the corner shaking.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." He said calmly, ushering it towards him with his hands. The dog slowly crawled forward. It still had fear in its eyes. When the dog reached him he helped it down to the cool pavement of the garage, but he noticed it was still limping so he picked it up and carried it inside. He didn't see his wife anywhere so he placed the animal on the couch.

"We won't tell anyone about this." He gave the dog a wink and it barked in response. He put his finger of his lips to signal the dog to be quite and surprisingly it listened. Mr. Hale rushed off down the hallway to the closet so he could grab some blankets for the dog to sleep on. He returned and placed them on the tile in the kitchen. He picked the dog up from the couch and placed it on the blankets. He also looked in the cabinets for a sizeable bowl to put water in. He placed it in front of the creature and it very loudly slurped the water.

"I'm sorry we don't have any dog food, but maybe some turkey slices sound good?" He asked the dog. It quirked its head to the side and its ears perked up.

"That's what I thought." He gave the dog a wink and placed a plate of deli meat in front of it. It gobbled them down within seconds.

Mr. Hale leaned down and ruffled the top of the dogs head. "You stay here while I go and check on everyone else." The dog instantly returned to looking sad and scared and it let out a whine. "Fine, you can follow me, but don't go anywhere that I don't or get ahead of me, understand?" The dog shot up on its legs, though one was still elevated slightly, and started wagging its tail. With his hand he ushered it to follow him to the nursery. He found his wife sitting in the rocking chair nursing their son.

"He woke up as soon as I got inside and he was hungry. Who else does that sound like?" She giggled. But as soon as she lifted her head to look at her husband her laughter died. "What is that thing doing in here? I thought I told you I didn't want it anywhere near our child." She said with a disgusted look on her face, holding their baby closer to her.

"Oh come on, honey, it's proven that it poses no threat to us or the baby and it actually listens. I promise you, this dog will not eat our baby." As he said this he walked closer to her and the dog followed.

"How can you be so sure? I mean, look at how big that thing is, are you sure that's even a dog?" She insinuated.

Mr. Hale looked down at the animal standing next to him. He hadn't really taken in the size of the dog, but now that he was looking at it he noticed it reached his waist. Mr. Hale was not a short man. He was about 6'3", so that meant this dog was at least 4 feet tall on all fours. It would be just as tall as he was if it was standing on its hind legs. Maybe it wasn't a dog, but he would let Dr. Deaton figure that out later that week.

"Whether it is a dog or not it's harmless. If you're really that paranoid then the baby can sleep with us tonight." He suggested.

She sighed and lifted the baby to her shoulder so she could burp it. "No, it's fine. Just make sure to keep your eye on it."

Mr. Hale celebrated a silent victory and walked out of the nursery into the living room and plopped onto the couch. The dog settled at his feet on the floor and Mr. Hale turned on the T.V. to the current football game that was on. Half an hour later his wife joined him on the couch and placed her head on his lap.

"He should be down for a couple hours. He'll probably wake us up in the middle of the night, but that's what parenting is all about right?"

He nodded his head and started stroking her hair.

"I can't believe we actually did it. We're parents. There's a baby in that room down the hall." She choked out. She looked up at him and she had tears in her eyes. He leaned down and gave her a kiss.

"We did it. I can't believe it either, but we did." He gave her another smile and a kiss. He slowly got up and she gave him a confused look. "How about I make us some dinner to celebrate?" He suggested with a smile. She nodded and sprawled out on the couch as he went into the kitchen to cook. It made her jump when the dog got up to follow him, but a smile crept on her face when she thought about how cute it was. The dog really did listen. Maybe she really was overreacting?

They enjoyed a nice home cooked meal on the couch until it was interrupted by the baby wailing from his crib.

"That was quick. It must be a dirty diaper. I'll go change it." Mr. Hale got up, placed his plate on the coffee table in front of them, and walked to the nursery with the dog following his every move. He picked the baby up out of the crib. He cooed at the baby to calm it down. He noticed the dog was nervous because it was pacing around the room and weaving in and out of his legs. How strange? It didn't stop until the baby was completely quite and placed back in his crib to sleep. He went to leave, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed the dog hadn't moved from the side of the crib.

"Come on." He demanded, but the dog didn't move. It kept looking up at the crib and then towards Mr. Hale as if telling him it was worried and didn't want to leave the baby.

"Alright, you can stay here with the baby if you're that worried. Keep Derek safe."

* * *

3 days later Mr. Hale had left work early to take the dog they had found to Dr. Deaton, on his wife's constant insistence of course. He had gotten a collar and leash for it so the other patrons in the office wouldn't be freaked out by the size of the animal, but they got stares none the less. When they were called into the back room he noticed Dr. Deaton was a little taken aback by the sheer magnitude of the animal.

"You said you just found this dog injured in the middle of the road?" He questioned.

"Yes sir. We were driving from the hospital, you know that my wife just had our baby, and it was standing in the middle of the road during that vicious thunder storm." Mr. Hale explained.

"Ah yes, congratulations on your baby by the way." Dr. Deaton complimented.

"Thank you." Mr. Hale responded.

Dr. Deaton went through inspecting the animal. He deduced it had a slight sprain and he put on a brace for comfort.

"There are two things you need to know. It is a she and she is also not a dog. She is a wolf." Dr. Deaton said affirmatively.

Mr. Hale's eyes widened in shock and he clutched his chest. "A wolf? I guess my wife had every right to be paranoid about her eating our baby."

The vet nodded his head. "Yes, she had every right to be worried, but this wolf seems oddly domesticated and though I wouldn't advise this, ever, she seems very attached to you, so if you see no further dangers down the road I see no problem with you keeping her as a pet."

Mr. Hale ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah, um I'm okay with that, but I'll have to talk to my wife about it, you know, with the new baby and all she might not be keen on having a wolf in the house."

"Alright, well for now we're done and if your wife agrees then you should bring her back so that we can give her the proper shots and other medicines to protect her." Dr. Deaton shook Mr. Hale's hand and left them alone in the room.

"You're a wolf, huh? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" She whined in response and ducked her head down avoiding his eyes. "It's okay, you'll just have to be on your best behavior to convince mommy to keep you right?" He ruffled the fur on her head and she hopped off of the observation table, wagging her tail in excitement.

His wife didn't react too calmly to him admitting the dog was actually a wolf. She scolded him for allowing the animal to sleep by Derek's crib every night so far.

"But she hasn't touched a hair on his head. I honestly think she wants to protect him. Plus, Dr. Deaton said she was pretty domesticated and I don't want to have to throw her out back into the wild after she has lived like this for the past 3 days. She won't know what to do with herself. I can also tell you've grown attached to her over the past few days as well. Don't try to deny it."

She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on the tile. "Fine, we can keep her, but we aren't telling anyone she is a wolf. People will think we're freaks."

Mr. Hale crouched down so he was face to face with their new pet and took her head between his hands. "Looks like you get to stay with us, Ruby." He said excitedly.

"You called her Ruby? How did you come up with that?" He heard his wife call across the room.

"It's her eyes. They're red, just like rubies. I think it's a pretty name for a wolf."

The next day Mr. Hale brought Ruby back to Dr. Deaton and they got everything set. Ruby was officially theirs.

* * *

Derek started crawling right on time. He was about 8 months old and boy could he cruise. The most adorable part of it was that Ruby would follow him everywhere he went, picking up things on the floor that were a possible choking hazards or turning him around with her snout if he was going someplace he wasn't allowed.

"It's like she thinks Derek is her baby." Mr. Hale chuckled.

Mrs. Hale glared at him. She must have taken offence to his joke because she made Ruby go lay down on her dog bed in the nursery. She wasn't allowed out until Derek was put down for bed and even then, after she was let outside and ate her dinner, she returned to her bed by his crib.

A couple of months later they had noticed Derek trying to stand up on his own. He would make it to a crouching stance and then fall back down on his bottom.

One day Ruby stood next to him and as he crouched he griped onto her fur and pulled himself up. As he took a step Ruby would do the same.

Mrs. Hale looked on in pure amazement. "Oh my god, honey, come here! You have to see this!" She yelled to her husband who was in his office. He came out looking frazzled and she pointed excitedly at Derek and Ruby. He rushed over to his wife's side and looked on with just as much admiration as her.

"Come on, Derek. Come to mommy." Mrs. Hale encouraged.

Derek started taking quicker steps and at one point had let go of Ruby and was in front of her. He had gotten a little ahead of himself though, and he started losing his balance. Thankfully, Ruby was right behind him and snatched the back of his onesie with her teeth so he wouldn't fall on his face and he just fell backwards on to his butt.

Mr. and Mrs. Hale still clapped for his effort and he mimicked them. He giggled happily as Ruby licked his cheek. It was like she was proud of him as well.

He spoke his first word a little while later. They were all sitting in the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Hale were on the couch and Derek was on the floor playing with the toys he had gotten for his birthday. Ruby, of course, was right by his side. Derek was flipping through the pages of a book full of different fairly tales. He stopped on one page and pointed at it.

"Ruby." He said pointing at the picture of the wolf in the Little Red Riding Hood story.

Ruby's ears picked up to the sound of her name and both of his parents stared at him in astonishment.

"Ruby." He said again, but this time he toddled over to Ruby and patted her on the head.

Feeling as though he was looking for a reaction, Mrs. Hale spoke up. "Yes, Derek, that wolf does look like Ruby, doesn't it?"

He repeated the action a couple more times; saying her name, showing them the picture, and then running back to pat the dog on the head. It wasn't really what they were expecting as his first word, but at this point it came as no shock.

Almost a year later Mr. and Mrs. Hale had some exciting news to share with Derek. Or, at least to them it was exciting, but Derek really didn't take it that way.

"I don't want a little sister. You'll love her more than you love me." Derek pouted.

Mrs. Hale crouched down in front of him and placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. "Honey, we'll never love any one more than you, we'll love you both equally."

Derek ran off crying and snuggled close to Ruby for comfort.

Derek had come to terms with getting a little sibling and by the 8 month mark he was even pestering his mother everyday about when the baby was going to come. He wasn't, however, pleased with the fact that Ruby was giving more attention to the baby, once it had arrived, than to him. Instead of playing hide and seek with him like she usually did, she was nudging Laura along, helping her crawl. She barely left Laura's side and nights were the hardest for Derek. He was so used to her presence at the foot of his bed that when she wasn't there and she was sleeping in the nursery with Laura, he would have trouble sleeping. At one point he had started having nightmares. He didn't realize he was crying out until he felt her wet nose against his hand. His eyes opened and they met her red ones. No words were spoken, but Ruby hopped up onto the bed and snuggled close to him. Her nights were spent on Derek's bed from then on.

* * *

The first day of kindergarten came sooner than the Hale's would have liked, but Derek was more than ready.

"Do you have everything?" His mother asked.

"I can't find my pencil! I need my pencil mom!"

Just then Ruby scampered up with a pencil in her mouth. Derek took it from her eagerly and gave her a pat on the head.

"Thanks, Ruby."

With that they were out the door and Ruby was left to sorrowfully look through the window. Mrs. Hale tried not to cry, but as she saw her little boy interacting with all the other kids in the class and not even acknowledging her existence a couple tears slipped down her face.

"First time mom?" Came a voice from next to her. Mrs. Hale turned to see a woman, about as tall as her, with curly brown hair.

"Yeah, well, he's my first. I have a little girl in preschool. I never thought it would be this overwhelming."

The mother nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. I'm Melissa McCall. I think our son's are playing Lego's together."

Mrs. Hale looked over at the play area and sure enough, Derek was playing with another little boy that had a big mess of brown hair on top of his head. Then another little boy with a buzz cut joined them.

"Looks likes Stiles has joined them too, he and Scott are inseparable." Melissa observed. "It's great to see Stiles making some new friends. After his mother died a while back he hasn't talked to anyone but Scott."

"Oh my, the poor baby, I couldn't imagine what that must be like. Is his father here?" Mrs. Hale questioned.

Melissa shook her head. "No, he's the Sheriff so he had to go into work early this morning. Stiles came with us. I've actually been watching him a lot lately since his father has been swamped with work. It's kind of hard working around my schedule though since I'm a nurse." She explained.

"Well, if you ever need any help let me know. I'm a stay at home mom and Derek would love to have friends around." Mrs. Hale scribbled her number onto a piece of paper and gave it to her. "Pass that on to the Sheriff as well." She offered.

Mrs. McCall looked flustered and stuffed the paper into her purse. "Um, thank you." She said before exiting the room.

Mrs. Hale looked at her son one last time before leaving to go home as well.

When she returned to school later that day, Derek had a serious case of motor mouth. He wouldn't stop talking about how much he liked his teacher, what 'get to know you' activities they did, and all the new friends he made; including Scott, Stiles, and a boy named Isaac. He repeated the story with just as much enthusiasm to Ruby when they got home and then to Mr. Hale when he got home from work that night. It was hard actually getting him into bed that night, but once he hit the sheets he was out like a light.

He was just as excited for the next day of school and the ones that followed. Mrs. Hale stayed true to her word and when Mrs. McCall called a couple nights later asking her to watch Scott and Stiles she happily obliged. She had forgotten about the wolf in the house until Mrs. McCall mentioned it the moment the door opened. Stiles was cowering behind her, but Scott didn't seem fazed.

"Wow, that's a big dog." Melissa commented.

Before she could respond Derek jumped in. "Yeah, but she wouldn't hurt a fly, would'ya, Ruby?" Ruby barked and wagged her tail happily in response. "Come one guys, you can come to my room." Derek told his friends. Stiles seemed assured by what Derek said about Ruby so he chased after Scott and Derek into Derek's room.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, on call can be unforgiving sometimes and being the Sheriff is such an unpredictable job as well. Mr. Stilinski and I thank you so much."

"Oh it's no problem. I'm always available anytime you need me. All you have to do is call." Mrs. Hale reassured her.

They waved goodbye and the house was soon filled with hysterical laughter.

It became a regular occurrence to have the boys over at their house over the years and it never bothered Mrs. Hale once.

When middle school came around the boys came over less since they were old enough to be home alone and Mrs. Hale kind of missed the company. Derek never left his room since he had gotten a laptop for his birthday, Laura was in bed pretty early, and Mr. Hale was always busy working. Derek wouldn't even let her have Ruby as company. He was truly selfish with that dog.

Derek remained friends with Scott, Stiles, and Isaac over the years and though they joined the Lacrosse team, he chose to join the basketball team. Much of his time outside of sports was spent with them or Ruby. People always whispered about how weird he was with that dog, if the animal could even qualify as that. He probably would have taken her to school with him if it was allowed, but sadly it wasn't. He didn't let the comments affect him. Ruby was the first friend he had ever made, their relationship was irreplaceable.

"Wanna go for a ride, Ruby!" Ruby's ears perked up in excitement when Derek asked her. It had been his 16th birthday a couple of days ago and his parents had gotten him the new Dodge Charger. He had just gotten his license and he couldn't wait to take it for a spin.

He opened the passenger door. "Come on, girl!" She jumped in and settled in the seat, looking around excitedly panting.

"Be careful, honey!" Mrs. Hale called from the front door, Mr. Hale standing next to her with his hand on her shoulder.

Derek waved to her warning and sped out of the driveway, almost giving Mrs. Hale a heart attack in the process. Ruby stuck her head out of the window and let her ears flap in the wind. Derek was the first of his friends to get a car and he couldn't wait to rub it in their faces. He pulled up to Scott's house and he saw Scott and Stiles practicing lacrosse in the front yard.

"I should have known that was you with that wolf sticking its big head out the window." Stiles joked.

Ruby growled in response to the insult "Hey, be nice to Ruby, she's just big boned." Derek cooed, comforting an offended wolf.

"Sweet ride, dude." Scott said raising his hand to Derek for a high five.

"Thanks, man."

"Well, wait until you see the Jeep I'm planning on getting for my birthday. That thing could take your Charger any day." Stiles challenged him.

Several months later Derek drove past Stiles in his rinky-dink Jeep, laughing while Ruby was howling in the seat next to him.

* * *

Derek awoke in the middle of the night feeling extremely hot and coughing uncontrollably. When he opened his eyes they stung due to the smoke enveloping the room. His ears finally tuned to the sound of crackling fire and Ruby barking by the door.

He covered his mouth with his arm and opened the door to his room. He attempted finding his way out, but due to the amount of smoke he had probably already inhaled in his sleep, he collapsed to the ground. Ruby was right there next to him and started dragging him towards the front door. Once he was able to reach the knob, he opened it, ran out, and collapsed on the front lawn.

He lifted his head and searched for Ruby, but he saw her run back inside. A few seconds later she came out dragging Laura. Derek shakily got to his feet and started walking to the house so he could go inside and try to save his parents, but Ruby growled at him. Just then there was a big explosion in the house and Derek's heart sank.

In the distance he heard sirens approaching. Soon firefighters were rushing into the house and dowsing the home with water. Laura and Derek were being aided with oxygen masks. A firefighter emerged from the front door through the smoke with Mrs. Hale in his arms. Derek pushed the oxygen mask away from his mouth, ignoring the insistence of the paramedic, and ran towards his mother.

"Son, you need to back away. We need to get her in the ambulance." The man said.

Derek reached for his mother, but the firefighter moved to fast for him and had already whisked her away. The same happened when they brought out his father, but this time he and Laura rode in the ambulance with him. They were repeatedly attempting CPR, but there was no sign of his father being revived.

"Call it." One of the paramedics said.

Derek had watched enough TV to know what that meant.

"No." Derek whispered to himself. His head collapsed in his hands and he started crying. He felt Laura's head hit his shoulder and tears dampening his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her to his chest.

When they finally arrived at the hospital they were told that their mother hadn't made it either. Derek was so angry he destroyed the back of the ambulance they had ridden over in.

"Son, you need to calm down." Sheriff Stilinski said.

The Sheriff had been called from the scene and he had followed them to the hospital. He had tried calming Derek down, but nothing was working. Suddenly a bark from the Sheriff's car broke him from his rage.

"I picked her up from your house. She was pacing in the front lawn. I didn't think it was such a good idea to leave her there." He explained.

Derek rushed towards the car and thrust the door open so he could pull Ruby into his arms. She was the only one that would make him feel better.

The funeral was held a of couple days later. The entire junior class showed up to support Derek along with some of Laura's freshman friends. Their Uncle Peter was there as well. They would be living with him now since he was their legal guardian.

The move to their new house was strange, but after a while they got used to it. Ruby wasn't that comfortable with Uncle Peter, but as time went on she became okay with him.

Derek became more secluded than ever. He quit the basketball team. He never went out and only talked to Scott, Stiles, and Isaac. His only company was Ruby.

On his 18th birthday during the beginning of his senior year, Derek was handed a manila folder.

"I think you should know what you stand to inherit now that you are of age." Peter told him.

Derek looked down at the folder on the table in front of him and his heart started racing. He knew what was in it. Half of him was excited and curious to see what they had left him, but the other half was scared by how final this act was. They left him with these things because they were gone. They were gone and never coming back. He chose to look on the brighter side and opened the folder.

His eyes instantly zeroed in on the large sum of money he was left with. He was left a few other little things of sentimental value, but one item in particular caught him off guard.

"He's - he's giving me Hale Inc." He stuttered out.

"Yes, I'll admit, I was a bit jealous that he decided to give it to you in the event of his death rather than me, but we came to a compromise. You will inherit it once you graduate from college."

Derek nodded in understanding. That sounded fair. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle a whole corporation at this point in his life with no work experience.

"For right now, I am in charge." Peter informed him.

Derek nodded again, but that declaration didn't leave him feeling very easy. Uncle Peter had always seemed rather sly to him, always trying to one up his father or undermine him, but in this position he really had no choice. He just had to trust that everything would be okay by the time the company was his.

With his new found encouragement, Derek worked as hard as he could to get the best grades possible. His father had been a business man, the founder of Hale Incorporated, and he was going to make sure that he got into a good college so that he could carry on the legacy. By spring he was already accepted to UCLA on early admission. Things were made even better when he found out Stiles, Scott, and Isaac were going there as well. He had to admit, he was quite shocked when Scott had gotten his acceptance letter, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

When looking for housing he was disappointed to find out that you weren't allowed to have pets on campus. Seeing as he wasn't going anywhere without Ruby, living off campus was the only option. His friends joined in and they all decided to rent a house together.

Move in day was a bitter sweet moment. He was excited to go to college and gain new experiences, but he was worried about leaving Laura. She never showed how much the loss of their parents had affected her. She was a strong girl, but Derek knew she was still in pain.

Derek gave her a hug that lasted several minutes. "You be careful. If a guy seems too good to be true, then he is. They will say anything to get with you,"

"Derek, I know, stop being like dad." Laura interrupted him.

Derek turned to his uncle. "You take care of her. She's your responsibility now." He warned him.

Peter hugged him and sent him on his way. Derek waved goodbye from his car and Ruby barked. The drive was a long one. They ended up getting stuck in traffic for a couple of hours and arriving at the house was such a relief. Scott and Stiles were already there and had started unpacking. Isaac was coming later that day.

"Of course you brought the dog with you. How old is she anyways? I mean damn, you've had her for as long as I've known you." Stiles said.

"Shut up, man." Derek threw a pillow at his face.

He never let comments about Ruby bother him, but what Stiles said made sense. He had that dog for as long as he could remember. His parents told him they had gotten her the day after he was born. That meant she was at least 18 years old, but she clearly had shown no signs of aging. Thinking about how old she was bothered him. She was his best friend and thinking about that alerted him to how little time they might have left.

He was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of a plate braking. He heard Scott curse and ran his hands over his face. This was going to be one hell of an experience.

* * *

His first year took some getting used to. There was a lot more freedom in college. He could stay out as late as he wanted to. He could go wherever he wanted without having to tell anyone where he was going. The work load was crazy seeing as he was taking business classes. But all in all it wasn't a bad experience.

Summer went by too fast and it was time for his second year. He was more prepared for this year than the last. He knew what to expect. How much he could party and still leave time to do homework. He also talked to Laura more often. It was her senior year and he wanted to make sure she wasn't stressing out too much. She had told him about her plans to go FIDM and he was glad to hear she had some sort of direction in her life. The other day she had been talking to him about how she had made her own dress for prom.

On the night of what he knew was her prom, Derek was in his room studying for the accounting final he had coming up when he got a call from his uncle.

"Derek, there's been an accident."

The phone nearly dropped from his hand.

"I'll be right there." He barked into the phone. He quickly grabbed his keys and was out the door, leaving Ruby standing worried and nervous in the hallway.

Derek drove as fast as could and when he made it to the hospital he did the crappiest parking job, but he couldn't care less. He found Peter in the waiting room.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Derek asked out of breath.

"They were on their way back from prom, Laura and a group of friends, when a car rammed into the side of the limo. The side Laura was on and they said….they said she wasn't wearing her seat belt. She hit her head on the roof," Peter continued to tell the story, but the buzzing in Derek's ears grew louder.

"Their trying everything they can to stabilize her, but it doesn't look good, Derek."

Derek sunk to the floor with those words. He couldn't believe it. He had already lost his parents and now he was going to lose his sister too? He instinctively reached beside him, expecting to grip on to a clump of fur, but all he got was carpet. Ruby wasn't there. She was back at his house and he needed her here.

"I'm sorry, Derek. You told me to take care of her and I failed." Peter said sounding defeated.

Several hours of tense waiting later the doctor appeared. Derek returned to his feet and stood next to Peter. The doctor approached them and clasped his hands together in front of him.

"I'm sorry. We did everything in our power to save her, but she didn't make it." He regretfully informed them.

Derek's whole life came crashing down for the second time. He had lost everyone. He never counted Uncle Peter as someone close to him because he really wasn't. All he had was Ruby and he needed her now more than ever.

Before anything was to be determined for the funeral, Derek had to go back to his place to be with Ruby. He didn't sleep at all that night. He just snuggled close to his bestfriend and stroked her gently as he sobbed into her coat.

The funeral was held a couple of days later. The entire school showed up and of course Scott, Stiles, and Isaac were there as well. Derek was numb through the entire ceremony and Ruby didn't leave his side. Mrs. McCall and Mr. Stilinski offered their condolences and Derek took them with a smile, but he felt nothing.

Everyone tried to convince him to take a break from school, it was practically over and his professors were going to let him pass on his exams, but Derek refused. He needed to prove that he could do it. He needed to prove that his father didn't make a mistake by leaving the company with him.

He made the chancellor's list every year after that and graduated college with a major in business and marketing. He was a bit nervous when he was handed the papers to sign so that Hale Inc. would be his, but he was excited none the less. He felt he needed people he could trust working for him, so he hired Scott, Stiles, and Isaac to be on his team. Thankfully, they had all graduated with the same major as him so they really weren't out of place.

His first major project was actually something he had come up with during one of his all night cram sessions. He had drunk a few energy drinks and by the time he had finished his work he was still wired and couldn't fall asleep. That's how he came up with the concept of making energy drinks with different levels of caffeine. There would be different amounts depending on how much energy you needed to get your work done. Another factor that helped with moving the concept along was of course, Ruby. Everyone always talked about how she was more of a wolf than a dog and that made him think about the different levels in a wolf pack; alpha, beta, and omega. Alpha would have the most caffeine and the levels would trickle down from there.

When he presented it to the board they loved it. They even came up with the idea of Ruby being the official mascot for the brand.

After a year, the product was finalized and ready for the world. During that time Derek had bought a building in L.A. and relocated the company. He felt the company was more suitable there than in Beacon Hills.

Driving to work one day, Derek was stopped at an intersection and spotted the billboard in front of him.

"Look at that, Ruby, that's you!" He said pointing at the giant picture of Ruby that was promoting the Wolf Pack energy drinks. She barked in approval which made Derek laugh. He stayed there for a couple minutes, just staring at it, ignoring the car honks behind him.

The launch part was insane. All the high up execs were there and the drinks were a hit. They were already planned to sell out once they hit the shelves. Derek was on an emotional high the entire night, but he was brought back to earth when he saw a girl from across the room. He had been sitting on one of the big couches set up with Ruby by his side. She was basically the face of the brand so of course she had to come. She picked her head up when he got up to move and whined at his absence.

He swaggered up to the girl and held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Derek." She held out her hand and he held it gently, placing a kiss on her knuckles. She smiled in response.

"The man of the night, what an honor." She flirted.

"I wouldn't put myself in that high of standards. I would say I'm just a guy who would love it if you joined him." He held out his arm for her to take. She accepted it and walked back with him to where he had been previously sitting. Her presence meant that Ruby had to move to floor, which she wasn't pleased with and she let Derek know with a huff.

"Oh hush, Ruby. You have to be polite if you're going to be the face of this brand." He whispered in her ear.

He spent the entire night with Kate; he had finally learned her name after much prying. He left the party with her number in his phone and a promised date for later that week.

It was going to be the first date he had had in a long time. Sure, he had been with girls before, but they had never been too serious. He also always trusted Ruby's judgment and if she didn't approve of the girl that was it, they were through. Recently he had been so busy with the launch of the energy drinks and the move that he had almost no social life. This date was certainly something to look forward to.

He could tell Ruby was angry with him when they got back to his apartment. When they got into bed she slept on the corner opposite of him by the foot of bed rather than her usually spot right next to him.

"Oh come on, Ruby, be happy for me. I deserve something good in my life after all of this hard work."

She huffed in response and went on ignoring his apologies.

His first date with Kate went great and so did the ones after it. Soon he was seeing her almost daily. When she stayed over at his place Ruby was kicked out of his room for the night, much to her disapproval. Kate wasn't much of a dog fan in the first place, but she put up with Ruby for Derek. After all the months that Kate was in his apartment or around Ruby, he never noticed how tense Ruby got or how she would release a low growl whenever Kate was around. He was so blind by love that he never noticed how much Ruby disapproved of her.

It was true. Derek was in love with Kate and after only a year together he was ready for her to be the one. He had everything planned out. How he was going to ask her, where, and when. He picked the most beautiful and extravagant ring for her that he knew she would love. What he didn't plan was finding her searching through his business plans in his office. He had gone there late at night to put the ring in his safe. He didn't want to keep it at his apartment in case she found it since she practically lived there now. She had told him that she was too exhausted from to work to come over to his place, but obviously this wasn't the case.

"What the hell." Derek's voice broke their stare off.

"Derek, baby, this is not what it looks like." She said getting out from behind his desk and walking over to him. She reached out for him, but he backed away.

"Oh really, because it looks like you're trying to steal information from my company." He snarled.

"I…I was just trying to get an insight to what you did for a living," She stuttered.

Derek waved his hands in front of her face. "I don't want to hear your bullshit explanation. Just get out of here. You can pick up your stuff from my place later this week." He pushed past her to put the papers back in his safe.

"Derek, wait, you don't mean that." She grabbed his arm, but he ripped it from her desperate grip.

"I said get out!" He screamed in her face.

"Whatever, you should know I didn't find anything worth stealing anyways. You come up with some pretty stupid ideas and that mutt you have is disgusting." She said with a smirk as she exited his office.

Once she was gone he screamed in frustration and threw the velvet box with the engagement ring across the room, the sound of it smacking on the glass echoing through the office.

He returned to his apartment and it was like Ruby knew exactly what had happened. She hopped onto the couch and laid her head in his lap. He stroked her head softly.

"You knew the second you saw her didn't you?" He looked down at her and their eyes met giving him her answer. "I should have known she wasn't right for me when she told me she wasn't fond of dogs. I'm sorry I forced you out of my bed while she was here. She wasn't worth it. You'll be the only girl for me from now on." He promised her.

He forced himself back into work the next day. He wasn't going to let Kate's comments convince him that his ideas sucked. His success so far had proven that he had some great ideas.

He was on his third can of Alpha that night when Scott came into his office.

"Dude, go home. You look like a wreck and you're going to work yourself to death." Scott started cleaning up the mess of wrappers around Derek's desk.

"I'm so close to finalizing this new product, I just need to add a few different touches." Derek muttered, scribbling something in his notebook.

"Derek, you don't have to prove anything to her. She's just jealous of your success." Scott told him.

Derek ran his hands through his hair shakily. "I should have known, man. I mean, her last name was Argent. How did I not connect those things?"

"It shouldn't have mattered that she was the granddaughter of our biggest competitor. She could have duped anyone of us, she just happened to pick the most handsome one." Scott joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Derek patted Scott on the shoulder. "Thanks, Scott, but you don't need to worry about me. I need this work to distract me. I'll be fine."

Derek worked late into the night. He wanted this new product to be perfect so that he could present it to the rest of the company tomorrow. He was like the walking dead when he got home, even Ruby had to help him get ready for bed.

But it was all worth it. The company loved his idea for their new drink; Kanima. Instead of giving you energy, this new drink would calm you down and help you sleep.

Derek had a vision of the Kanima as more of a reptilian creature so they haired a model and painted him with scales as their new campaign ad. It took a year for the product to be finalized, just like the Wolf Pack had, and once again it was time for the launch party.

"So, are you bringing Allison tonight?" Stiles asked Scott.

"Yeah, man, she finally said yes after I tracked her down in the lab. What about you, did you finally ask Lydia?"

Stiles shook his head and stuffed another handful of fries in his mouth. "No, the model we got for the campaign beat me to it. What makes Jackson so special anyways? He seems like a total douche."

"It's alright dude, Isaac and I aren't going with anyone either. It can be like a guys night." Derek reassured him.

The night was a total success and Derek averted the eyes of every girl in the room. The only girl he was coming home to these days was Ruby.

After the successful launches of both the Wolf Pack and Kanima, Derek could have retired and had been set for life, but he wasn't going to give up working. He would probably work until the day he died.

Work became less hectic as the years went by. They came up with little ideas to keep the brand going; turning the drinks into gel shocks and hard candies. It kept things interesting. Two years after that he was the witness to both Scott's marriage to Allison and Jackson's to Lydia.

Almost too soon he was celebrating his 28th birthday. He told his friends he didn't want a huge party, so they threw him a huge surprise party instead.

"Dude, you're like the biggest bachelor in L.A., you need to be throwing parties like this on the regular." Jackson slurred. "How else are you supposed to get laid?"

"Whatever man, I'm fine with things the way they are." Derek responded.

"You can't let what Kate did to you affect your whole life. She was a bitch, but not all women are. I think I got a pretty good one."

"A pretty good one?"

They both whipped their heads around, Jackson's action causing him to stumble a little, to see Lydia standing with her hands on her hips directly behind them.

"Babe, you know I didn't mean it like that." Jackson groveled. Lydia flipped her hair in frustration and left the room only to have Jackson drunkenly chase after her.

Derek surveyed the room, watching everyone having a great time, just like him. He didn't need anyone special to share this with. He was fine on his own.

* * *

When Derek woke up the next morning he felt a heavy weight in the spot in his bed next to him. He knew Ruby didn't weigh that much. When he opened his eyes he was accosted by a mess of brown curly hair. When he backed up, he saw that the hair belonged the naked women asleep next to him. He may have gotten drunk last night, but he certainly didn't get wasted. He knew he rejected every woman's advances on him and went to bed with Ruby lying next to him, but now she was nowhere in sight. Who was the naked woman in his bed?

He felt uncomfortable checking her out while she was lying there naked, probably not even realizing how vulnerable she was to him, but he couldn't help it. She was naked in his bed. He had no idea what to do now though. Was he supposed to wake her up? Should he just let her be and have her wake up on her own? Should he make breakfast?

He wasn't able to think of any other options because she stirred next to him and flopped over onto her back so that her breasts were in full view. He couldn't turn away fast enough to give her some modesty when her eyes fluttered open. They both froze, but the silence was broken by the eruption of her scream. She pulled the covers up to conceal her naked body from him.

"Who are you? Why am I here? Where am I? Why am I naked?" She asked so many questions that he didn't know how to answer.

"My name is Derek Hale and I have no idea how you ended up in my bed or why you're naked. You weren't here when I went to bed. My dog was actually lying where you are last night. Did you happen to see her? She's a big furry black dog. Some might say she looks like a wolf." He tried to easily explain to her.

Her face fell into her hands. "She actually did it." He heard her mutter.

* * *

 **Part two will be coming soon! Let me know what you guys think :)**


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